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arXiv · 2211.09716

A Flexible MATLAB/Simulink Simulator for Robotic Floating-base Systems in Contact with the Ground

Nuno Guedelha·Venus Pasandi·Giuseppe L'Erario·Silvio Traversaro·Daniele Pucci
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Abstract

Physics simulators are widely used in robotics fields, from mechanical design to dynamic simulation, and controller design. This paper presents an open-source MATLAB/Simulink simulator for rigid-body articulated systems, including manipulators and floating-base robots. Thanks to MATLAB/Simulink features like MATLAB system classes and Simulink function blocks, the presented simulator combines a programmatic and block-based approach, resulting in a flexible design in the sense that different parts, including its physics engine, robot-ground interaction model, and state evolution algorithm are simply accessible and editable. Moreover, through the use of Simulink dynamic mask blocks, the proposed simulation framework supports robot models integrating open-chain and closed-chain kinematics with any desired number of links interacting with the ground. The simulator can also integrate second-order actuator dynamics. Furthermore, the simulator benefits from a one-line installation and an easy-to-use Simulink interface.

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Nuno Guedelha, Venus Pasandi, Giuseppe L'Erario, Silvio Traversaro, Daniele Pucci. 2022-11-17. A Flexible MATLAB/Simulink Simulator for Robotic Floating-base Systems in Contact with the Ground. https://arxiv.org/abs/2211.09716

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